Storage warehouses employ various different storage systems to facilitate the transport and storage of palletized items. Gravity-based First-In-First-Out (FIFO) storage systems, for example, are advantageous in that they facilitate both the loading and unloading of pallets. A gravity-based FIFO storage system generally includes an inclined conveyor having an upper loading end, where pallets are loaded onto the conveyor, and a lower unloading end, from which pallets may be removed from the conveyor. In use, a pallet loaded onto the conveyor at the upper loading end travels along the conveyor under the force of gravity from the upper loading end towards the lower unloading end, where the pallet eventually contacts a stop at the lower unloading end of the conveyor or a previously-loaded pallet or pallets that are stacked against the stop.
However, while gravity-based FIFO storage systems are efficient for loading and unloading of pallets, pallets pick up speed as they are moved along the conveyor under gravity. Depending upon the incline of the conveyor, the length of the conveyor, the weight of the pallet, the weight distribution of the pallet, etc., the pallet may reach a high rate of speed and eventually crash into the stop, flip over the stop, and/or crash into other pallets. Damage to the palletized items, the pallets themselves, the storage systems, nearby items, and/or injuries to workers may result.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a brake mechanism for pallet storage systems that reduces the speed of pallets traveling along the inclined conveyor, ensuring that the pallets do not reach potentially dangerous high-rates of speed. It would further be advantageous to provide a brake mechanism for pallet storage systems that is selectively adjustable to enable adaptation to a particular situation based on, for example, the incline of the conveyor, the length of the conveyor, the weight of the pallets, the weight distribution of the pallets, the number of brake mechanisms utilized, the layout of the brake mechanisms, etc.